Inquest Rules After Manea Man Death
4 February 2010, 14:01 | Updated: 4 February 2010, 15:22
The family of a Cambridgeshire patient given a fatal overdose by an overseas locum has called for the doctor to face trial in the UK, after a coroner said the death amounted to manslaughter.
Cambridgeshire North and East Coroner William Morris recorded a verdict of unlawful killing for David Gray and accused German doctor Daniel Ubani of gross negligence.
He also criticised out-of-hours care in this country saying that ``weaknesses remain in the system'' and made a string of recommendations, including the setting up of a database for foreign doctors working here.
After the verdict, Mr Gray's son Stuart, himself a GP, called for Dr Ubani, who administered the fatal dose of diamorphine to his father, to face justice in a UK court.
He said: ``My father's tragic death happened because of Dr Ubani's actions and because of serious failings within the Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust and (out of hours care provider) Take Care Now.
We want to see him tried under UK law for his death but we also want safeguards put in place nationwide to prevent this happening again.''
You can listen to Mr Gray's son Rory speaking to our reporter Amanda Akass after the inquest here.
In a damning conclusion to the 10-day inquest, the coroner described Dr Ubani, 67, as ``incompetent and not of an acceptable standard''.
He went on to describe Dr Ubani's induction as ``insufficient and inadequate'' and said he was ``tired out'' when he started work on February 16, 2008, the day Mr Gray died.
Dr Ubani, who refused to attend the inquest and refused to comment on the verdict, cannot be extradited to face trial in the UK because he has already been tried in Germany over Mr Gray's death.
He was charged in Witten with causing death by negligence and given a nine-month suspended sentence and a fine of 5,000 euros.
He is still working at a clinic in Germany.
Mr Gray, 70, died after he was injected with 100mg of diamorphine - 10 times the recommended daily dose. He was suffering from renal colic when he was treated by Dr Ubani at his home in Manea, Cambridgeshire.
The inquest heard that Dr Ubani was working on his first out-of-hours shift in Britain and had only arrived in the country the day before.